Gears

An early birthday present arrived in the mail and the kids were excited. They each got a set of gears and they went to work.

Sweet Daughter's first creation - her favorites are the swing and merry-go-round for bears

 Sweet Son was more interested in how many gears he could hook together

They put their sets together and made a 3d set that worked smoothly

Environmental Science

We do a lot of Science experiments and here are some of my favorites.

Making paper - easy, fun, and memorable

This is easily one of my favorite experiments. It makes a huge mess, but everyone will learn something. You start with a great environment - clean water, sand, plants, rocks, shells, animals. This is ideal.

Oh no! There was an oil spill in the water. It's all over everything. It doesn't stay in the water - it seeps into the sand and touches everything. How are they going to clean it up???

I don't have any more photos of this experiment because it gets so messy the camera wasn't a priority. I gave them a variety of materials - cotton, pantyhose, dish detergent, kitty litter, nets, etc. I also let them use anything (within reason) they thought might help. Remember anything being used will end up with oil on it.

The cotton soaks up the water and oil. The pantyhose attracts the oil to it, but doesn't clean it. The dish detergent takes it off animals and plants, but leaves it in the water. The kitty litter soaks up the oil the best, but can't be contained. The nets don't do anything. The best solution is a combination. Put kitty litter inside the pantyhose for the best solution. The biggest take away is it's best not to make the planet dirty in the first place.

Tree Climbing

The tree in our backyard is not a climbing tree. I can walk under it without ducking, which means the lowest branch is more than 5 ft high. That's a long way up when you are a short 5 year old. However, the kids decided they were going to climb the tree. I sat and watched not making any suggestions or comments. They problem solved, they worked together and they both climbed the tree much higher than I would have ever expected.

Sweet Son climbing with a helping hand from Sweet Daughter

He made it as high as 6 foot fence and still isn't at the lowest branch.

Sweet Daughter made it higher. He is standing on his tippy toes trying to help her up. She was able to look over the fence and see the field on the other side.

Yes, they both scraped up their hands and wore down their pants. Who cares though? They were working together and having fun.

The snow hasn't melted yet

What can you build with snow? It was time for our kids to find out!

That's a really tall... snow sculpture?

Snow and buckets - this is a great start

Sweet Daughter in a cute little fort

It collapsed shortly after this, but looked awesome until then

He wanted to build his own snowman without any help.

Tegu Blocks

My kids love building things. We have Legos, Keva Planks, cardboard blocks, and magnetic plastic blocks. I had never heard of these, but now I'm wondering if you have. Have any of my readers played with these? Are they awesome? How do they compare to the other options? Clearly this post wasn't written by me, but it did get my attention and I wanted to share it. One of the oldest and most reliable toys that children have played with for centuries is the simple wooden block. It's versatile, safe and most of all fun. While standard wooden blocks are still fun, there have been major innovations and advancements in technology to bring us to where we are now. The Tegu blocks are an awesome modern twist on a classic toy. These blocks may look simple at first glance, but only when you start to play with them do you realize truly how awesome they are. Tegu blocks come with tiny magnets embedded in the blocks, which means that kids of any can create structures they only ever dreamed of. And with plenty of options, there's a perfect Tegu set for any family!

What Moms are Saying About Tegu

Christina is a mommy of three who shares fun activities for kids on her YouTube channel, The Purple Alphabet. During her video review of the Tegu blocks, she says "It really encourages your child to think creatively... you're gonna get a lot of use out of these over the years." "Bought these for my 6 year old grandson for Christmas and we now call his creations "the work of a City Planner. " The different shapes and structures take on the look of city skylines with random items like trees, bridges, etc. Geometry was never so much fun." -Deborah F. "My first reaction was "these are pricey!" but they were highly recommended to me so I gave it a go. Now I can tell they will be loved for years. My 3 year old loves stacking them and clicking them together and a part. I even have fun playing with these and I'm an adult. They are high quality and the colors are great." -Summer H.

The Social Impact

Not only are Tegu blocks fun, but they have a social impact. The business was founded in Honduras with the idea of helping out a country with an unemployment rate of above 30%. Local Hondurans are regularly hired and receive opportunities for growth and leadership within the company. If that weren't enough, with every purchase of a Tegu product, the company plants more trees or funds a whole day of school for a child without access to education. With a product this fun and a company that is so caring, it's hard not to love Tegu, and the products listed here are only the beginning! Be sure to check out the full Tegu catalog to find out which one is right for you.

Classic 40 Piece

Create amazing structures and wonderful memories with the classic Tegu block 40 piece pack. Coming in four styles (tints, natural, jungle, and Nelson), the classic Tegu pack is the perfect purchase for kids who want to experience as many combinations as possible.

What's included:

• 40 Magnetized Tegu Blocks in seven shapes
• Large storage box
• The Tegu Story booklet filled with build ideas and the Tegu story

On-The-Go Sets

This Tegu pack is perfect for families who are constantly on the go. Available in four sets, these Tegu mini packs come with their own carrying case to make sure you don't lose any of the pieces.

What's included:

• Six magnetized Tegu blocks
• High quality carrying case
• Building ideas

Classic Wood

This set is perfect for more retro-minded families. The classic wood Tegu package includes 22 slick wooden blocks that can be used to create tons of different wooden structures and shapes.

What's Included:

• 22 magnetized blocks in four shapes
• Storage box

School Supply Donation

Last month I wrote about how Sweet Daughter used her own money to buy books for kids that don't have any. This month Sweet Son found something he wanted to donate.

He spent his own money buying these school supplies. We dropped them off at a local drive that was giving filled backpacks to kids in our school district. He picked out what they would need and did his best comparison shopping. I love that my kids love helping and are willingly spending their own money to help others who are less fortunate.

Wrapping Packages

The curriculum I have been using with the kids suggested letting the kids wrap a package. We pulled out some old Christmas wrapping paper, some tape, and some empty boxes and just let them try. They were given no advice or instructions, but had observed us (mostly Wonderful Husband) wrapping presents before.

They both had a good start. It's those pesky ends that will complicate things.

Clearly they are using different methods. They both ended up with a box that was wrapped. They both had a great time. They also got to open each other's box. It was fun and they certainly used fine motor skills and problem solving in ways I had never considered before.

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday

His head was actually stuck.

Backpack Storage

We don't have an entry way closet or any place to put our coats/backpacks when we come home. We started by hanging a mirror with hooks, but this quickly became full and they kids were trying to take down their own things and that was dangerous.

Photo by Sweet Son

I had this Deluxe Dress-Up Storage Unit that we had previously used to hold costumes. I bought it at a warehouse sale and the kids have been using it for years. Then the kids stopped cleaning up their costumes and they were taken away. (The costumes are still in the garage a year later because they haven't proved they can keep them cleaned up.) We shifted the coat rack to just under the mirror and it has been the perfect solution. The kids hang up their own coats and backpacks. They get their own things ready and put them away. This opens up more space for the adult jackets on the mirror.

A Tale of Two Beds - Part 13

Once again, here are the links to the previous 12 tales. Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Frustration, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12. The kids are in separate rooms, so how bad could this be?

Aww how sweet! She fell asleep with Barbaloot hugging her.

Wait... his bed is in the other room. They moved his mattress into her room. Then he slept on the pillow next to it.

So now not only is his mattress in her room, he has folded it before falling asleep. Look how cramped he appears!

Ok seriously. They worked together to move his bed frame out of his room, around 2 corners and into her room. This is not an easy task. We didn't even hear anything until they were arguing about where in her room they would put it.

Yes this is a different night. I guess they decided where to put his bed. Yet he still doesn't sleep on it!

Kid Photographers - Marble Run

Last installment of kid photographers this month, I promise. Granted today is almost the last day of the month so it's not much of a promise, but I work with what I have. hah One of the favorite Christmas gifts this year (yes, 5 months ago) was a large marble run.

Sweet Son building a new run

Photo by Sweet Daughter

Sweet Son's finished run

Photo by Sweet Son

Painting Easter Eggs

In our quest to continue trying different ways of decorating eggs, the kids suggested we paint them. This seems like a simple and easy idea, so I grabbed the water colors and let them go to town.

The kids focused and had fun trying to paint all the way around when you are also trying not to drop the egg.

They tried holding the eggs various ways, setting the egg on the tray, and just rolling them around.

This did not turn out to be a clean project, but it was fun.

 

Watching the eggs dry - it's exactly as much fun as it sounds. haha

My kids are awesome.

Today's post is just a collection of stories about my kids.

At PE class on Tuesday they played red light/green light. When it was Sweet Daughter's turn to be the light she only let them get 1/2 way to her. Then she held it on red for a really long time. The other students started complaining that it was the longest red light ever. They told her to change it to green. She looked at them and explained that once they got to her, her turn would be over, but as long as it was red they were all looking at her. There was an intervention to finish her turn.

Sweet Son is cutting shapes out. After a few triangles, rectangles, etc. Then he decided to cut his favorite shape. Antarctica. Nothing strange about that... um... yeah.

We were driving the other day and passed a deli. The kids ask what they did and I explained they sell sandwiches. The kids wanted to go, but I explained they weren't gluten free. The next day we were driving and Sweet Son decided he found another store he really wanted to go to. He read the sign "Speedy Cash" and decided he would just go in and pick up some money. When I explained how it actually works he decided he doesn't really want to go there. Reading is a dangerous thing.

Last week on the way to horseback riding we drove past a farm. The kids ask what was going on in the field. I told them the donkeys were being amorous. A week later we drove past another field and the kids pointed out that the cows were also being amorous. Now I'm afraid of what they will say the next time they see someone getting a piggy back ride.

Evil Child

She locked him in the closet. The closet we have already removed the doorknob from so they can't open it. She somehow got it opened, told him to get inside (he does whatever she says), and then closed the door. Then she decided she can't open it again so he's locked inside. Evil, evil child.

 He took this photo of her.

 She took this photo of him.

Wordless Wednesday

It's an airplane. He's climbing into the cockpit.

Blocks Box

As we found places for all of the Christmas toys, we needed to rearrange some things. The cardboard blocks were often played with, but rarely put back on the shelves so they were an ideal candidate. Still we didn't know where else we would put them.

Then we bought a new mattress (for us, not the kids). It came with two cardboard ends to protect it and the blocks fit perfectly inside. So we had a great place to put the blocks, but where to put the box?

It fits perfectly in front of the fireplace. It blocks the kids from opening the fireplace. It does mean we have toys in the living room which we were trying to avoid, but these are easy to clean up. The kids still play with them often and it's not like we keep anything else on the fireplace so they didn't take away any of our space.

A Tale of Two Beds - Part 7

Here we go again. If you are new, feel free to start at the beginning of this series:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Frustration
Part 6

There hasn't been a new post in this series since July. Maybe you were holding out hope that my kids had finally realized just to sleep in their beds... or maybe you have met my kids. sigh If you remember, my kids have what we call the prison room, only not quite as nice. They have mattresses, sheets, blankets, pillows, and a stuffed animal. No bed frame or other furniture allowed.

Look Mommy, it's a Snoopy house!

We built it together and will play here instead of sleeping.

Then they get tired and do eventually fall asleep (she is under there). This works well until they do something like roll over or move an arm and the entire thing falls on top of them. If it were me, I would sleep on top of it instead of having it fall on top of me.

Here's a picture from the next night. She at least changed the way she is sleeping so she has more room to roll without it falling on top of her. As long as they sleep, I've decided I don't care.

Merry Christmas!

We spent Christmas day at home. It was a nice, quiet (well, as quiet as could be imagined with twin 3 year olds who have new toys), and relaxing.

We started by opening stockings. They each had a new puppet, a new boat to put together and take apart in the bathtub, and a couple of other small toys. 

Then the kids moved on to the gifts from Mom and Dad. Yes, we really did only get them two things and they were both games to share. They got so many things from the rest of the family that we didn't want to overwhelm them. Also these are both games we played as kids so we wanted them to share in the experience. First they opened Hungry, Hungry, Hippos and of course we all played multiple rounds.

The other toy was a marble run. They built some together, they built some on their own, Mommy built some for them, and on and on. This is a great toy and I loved watching them discover how the different pieces work and how to plan what they wanted to happen.